Malta has opportunity to be Powerboat P1 'Signature Venue'

One of the organisers of the Powerboat P1 World Championship, Martin McDonald, is keen to establish a long-term relationship with the island, elevating it to the status of a "Signature Venue" with the Grand Prix of Malta forming part of the annual race calendar.

Mr McDonald, who was here last week to finalise arrangements for the Grand Prix of Malta, being held on the weekend of May 29 and 30, met the Harbourmaster to get the necessary agreements with the Malta Maritime Authority, apart from being here to meet Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, and officials of the Malta Tourism Authority and other sponsors, who include the Valletta Waterfront consortium, VISET Malta plc, and Grimaldi Ferries.

Speaking to The Sunday Times last week, Mr McDonald explained why Malta was chosen to join a world championship that was launched in its present form last year and presents a unique marketing platform.

"KBL Powerboat Management had originally set Naples as the lead Grand Prix of the UIM World Championship but events led us to move it back in the calendar," he said. "Malta then became our focus because we had the commitment of the Government and everyone thought it would be a good culmination to the important EU accession celebrations during the month of May."

Mr McDonald said his initial contact with Malta was with the Malta Tourism Authority and former MTA chairman John C. Grech: "We were very impressed with his vision for the future of Malta and how World Championship events could change its international perception.

"Our sport attracts a following of people who are quite discerning in the places they go to visit and they have higher than average spending power.

"Many of our pilots, for example, also have their own pleasure craft and, when not racing, they cruise the Med with their families. We felt that our event would help Malta attract more and more of those kind of people to come to the island to visit, take holidays, and perhaps invest in the island in businesses or property.

"I have to say that John was very enthusiastic about Powerboat P1 coming to Malta as an important annual event for the island. Our partner is the MTA not any single individual, but he was certainly a big early influence."

Asked about KBL's long term interests in Malta, Mr McDonald responded: "KBL is a business and it wants to take the World Championship to interesting places, but everything has to come back to the viability of the business.

"If the event is well supported and popular, our plan would be to return year after year. Value, like trust, must be earned and built over time. And it works between partners - not in one direction.

"It has to be based on relationships. The teams and KBL are investing heavily in the future of the sport and we are looking for partners who will respect this investment, match it with their own, and work with us to build an important event. It takes time and a lot of goodwill."

Speaking of the organisers, Mr McDonald said KBL Powerboat Management's managing director is Nathan Knight, who has a legal background and was former managing director of the Class 1 racing during the 2001 season.

Massimo Lippi is the sport and technical director. He previously raced in Malta in Class 1 in a boat called Jolly Motor in the early Nineties. A former world champion, he is responsible for designing the race course in Malta and at the other venues.

Mr McDonald has his own company, Big On Results, which works with clients to help develop their businesses and is helping KBL Powerboat Management to implement a business strategy to create a professional series with high value for investors and teams and venues.

He has a background in marketing and has been involved in Formula 1 and the World Rally Championships, helping teams like Williams, British American Racing and Jaguar Racing.

Not much will be happening in the coming four weeks, apart from behind-the-scenes preparations, but the 30-foot powerboats will be arriving by ferry in Grand Harbour on May 28. Mr McDonald said powerboat racing is a family-oriented sport and every effort will be made to enable locals and visitors alike to get good views of the boats.

This event is free to the public and KBL hopes to welcome many spectators on land and in boats around the circuit in the specified safe areas. There will be testing on Friday afternoon and two races, one around Malta on Saturday and a point to point race on Sunday for the two classes of boats taking part, the Endurance, which is the prototype class with boats being powered by up to 2,000 horsepower engines, and the SuperSport class, which are normal production performance boats.

Mr McDonald is understandably keen to get a firm financial commitment for support from local authorities and sponsors to ensure that the Grand Prix of Malta will take a permanent place on the Powerboat P1 calendar. "We have a wide choice of places that we can go to race but what we wanted was something with Malta which we feel is unique.

"Malta can't have a Formula 1 grand prix, the World Rally Championship, MotoGP (or) Superbikes. Its biggest asset is the sea and one of its biggest attributes is a population well educated about boating. We race on the sea and we feel that Malta is a perfect fit for Powerboat P1."